Hit The Road
by Ominous Rain
Summary: (Slight AU) Aidou feels unappreciated and decides to disappear for a while. Who will truly notice the absence before it's too late? {One-shot}


Summary: (Slight AU) Aidou feels unappreciated and decides to disappear for a while. Who will truly notice the absence before it's too late?

 **Disclaimer: Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino-sensei.**

 **Warnings: Un-beta-ed, OOCness?, Blood**

Authoress: Kind of cliché but I wanted to write it. Named after some lyrics from Ailee's "I'll Be Okay." I also drew inspiration from Maaya Sakamoto's "More Than Words" ending theme for Code Geass: Akito the Exiled. I suggest looking at Akito the Exiled, even if you aren't a Code Geass fan. Other than those two songs, I have no idea how to explain this. lol

*I made up that element.

 _Flashback. Thoughts._

* * *

 **Hit The Road**

Aidou huffed angrily as he packed his bag. Fine! If no one wanted him around then he'll leave! The blond genius knew he was overreacting, but he couldn't take the insults anymore. Something had caused a dent in his self-confident armor and he needed alone time to fix it.

The blond noble was going to escape into the woods nearby. Okay, it wasn't near by (a couple thousand miles) but that was no problem for him. He needed total tranquility to clear his mind. He hadn't bothered to tell anyone since everyone seemed to not care about him anyway. All the other vampires were currently sleeping, as it was the middle of the day. His cousin Akatsuki was sleeping with his girlfriend (that vile harpy Ruka) so Aidou was alone in the dorm room. Aidou jumped out his window, thinking about the first incident.

* * *

 _Ruka laughed loudly. "Poor little Aidou. You can't even do this simple physics lab. How did they ever label you a genius?"_

 _The blond watched with horror as the beaker bubbled over with a blue liquid. "Oh shut up Ruka! You didn't even help me." Then speaking more to himself, "I don't know what went wrong. I followed all directions to a tee."_

 _The lab teacher had turned off the burner and shooed vampire students away from Ruka and Aidou's table. "Aidou and Ruka you're out the remainder of lab."_

" _But—" Aidou began to protest but the look from the teacher shut him up._

" _It's alright Aidou. Everyone makes mistakes." Then the teacher added as an afterthought. "Although, you usually don't."_

* * *

The blond noble had hated the smirk on Ruka's beautiful face when they both sat out for the rest of lab. The two had been at each others' throats since they were kids, and the harpy took any chance to insult him. Then there had been his beloved cousin that insulted him as well.

* * *

" _It's worthless Hanabusa." Kain threw down the papers that contained important blood-pill information on the coffee table. "The other scientists can't do anything with your formula."_

" _What do you mean?"Aidou glared at his cousin from across the coffee table between them. "My blood infusion formula is_ _ **flawless**_ _!"_

" _I'm sorry my dear cousin but your formula is not_ _ **flawless.**_ _" Kain pulled out the other report from the lab scientists' manila folder. "It's missing a key bonding element. See for yourself."_

 _Aidou took the report with a pout on his face. "B-but the triacolyte*…"_

" _Doesn't work with all types of human blood." Kain sighed. "I thought you were smarter than this Hanabusa."_

" _But Akatsuki! I can just find another bonding element!" Aidou looked at his cousin shocked, hurt._

" _Maybe." Kain looked unconvinced. "You seemed to be failing this particular project. Maybe you should hand this over to another vampire for a while? To rest your mind, you know?"_

* * *

Aidou's family was the one responsible for creating and improving the blood tablets. It hurt his pride that he couldn't help his family in creating more advanced blood pills. He's been trying since the start of the co-existence to bring something ground breaking. Most of the break-throughs that they had with blood pills were because of him but that didn't stop Akatsuki's comment from hurting any less. The blond noble then used his vampire speed to leave the school, then city, then country, until he came to his secluded cabin in the woods. Tears started to form; the incident with Kaname had hurt him the most.

* * *

 _Kaname stared out the window as Aidou fidgeted from the other side of the pureblood's desk. "Yes, Kaname-sama?"_

" _Yuuki tells me you were caught walking around after curfew…_ _ **again**_ _." The pureblood inwardly sighed. The mischievous blond just couldn't seem to stay out of trouble._

" _I-I just wanted some air, Kaname-sama. I swear that I didn't bite any Day Class students!" Aidou quickly defended himself. Although, his previous deeds does not give him credit with this truth. This time however, Aidou really didn't bite any Day Class students._

" _Even if you didn't bite any Day Class students you still broke the rules,_ _ **again**_ _." Kaname turned from the window calmly to look at the blond._

 _Before Aidou could blink he felt a hard slap to his face that made him fall to the floor. The blond noble gathered himself on the plush carpet, cupping his cheek. It stung really badly. It almost felt like his jaw was broken._

" _Do not break the rules again, Aidou." The pureblood looked annoyed. "I cannot constantly deal with your antics. If you continue to fail following the rules, maybe you should leave Cross Academy?"_

" _B-but Kaname-sama—"_

" _Out." The pureblood turned back around to gaze out the window._

 _Aidou quickly scrambled into a clumsy bow and left the room silently._

...God, he could still feel that slap too. That incident coupled with the other incidents during the week caused Aidou to snap. That meant the intelligent blond had to go meditate and calm his soul. Meditation was the only way he knew how to build his armor against the world again. Aidou was setting up his stuff inside the cabin. He secretly bought the places years ago and goes here to escape. He only brought himself essentials: clothes, toiletries, and money. Whenever he decided to come back to civilization he'll get his family to come. Speaking of which, he should have at least told his mother…

* * *

 **~*Hit the road*~**

"Has anyone seen Aidou?" Kain asks as he walks into the common area. Various vampires looked up. Some shrugged their shoulders or shook their heads.

"He's probably off playing a prank on the prefects." Rima said in a bored tone as she chewed on pocky.

"Hn." Shiki agreed also chewing on pocky.

Kain sighed. He wanted to hang out with his cousin today, knowing that the blond had been feeling down. However, he can't seem to find the blond anywhere. He's checked in with Kaname-sama, asked Ruka, asked Ichijou, looked in Moon Dorm's personal library, talked to the gate-keeper if he's seen Aidou pass, and no one has seen the blond at all. "Well if any of you see him, tell him to find me." With that the fiery blond went off to go find the prefects.

* * *

 **~*Hit the road*~**

"Haven't seen the bloodsucker." Zero replies to Kain's question. "It's actually been quiet so far without him."

"Yeah, Aidou-sempai has been behaving, which is unusual." Yuuki adds. She decided to still be a prefect despite everything after the Rido incident. "Is everything alright Kain-sempai?"

Kain gave a frustrated sigh. It's a dead end here as well. "I can't seem to find Aidou anywhere…unless!" A light went off in Kain's head as his facial expression changed into one that said "Eureka!"

"What is it Kain-sempai?" Yuuki asked.

"He's not on school grounds." Kain concluded. "That has to be it. I can't even feel his aura in the vicinity."

"Where would he go? The idiot can't tie his shoes without servants" Zero said sarcastically. He could get along with certain vampires after the Rido incident and when Kaname went crazy killing other purebloods, but that didn't change his attitude completely. Yuuki was still his friend after turning into her true pureblood heritage, but she will never love him like she did Kaname. That fact has made him bitter, though Zero would never admit it. Ironically, Zero also hasn't fully come to terms with the fact he was now claimed as part of the Kuran family (he would be damned to change his last name) in Vampire Society. Also, the feelings wedging themselves underneath his skin were irritating. There was just too much he happening at once.

Kain gave Zero a disgruntled look, knowing the other was just being grumpy. "You know Aidou is not like that. I need to contact our family." The noble then turns to Yuuki. "You'll keep an eye out please, Yuuki-sama?"

"Of course." Yuuki smiled. "But why would Aidou-sempai leave the school?"

The fiery blond looked uneasy. "I'm not sure but I have a clue as to why." Then Kain said goodbye and walked away.

Yuuki had an uneasy feeling in her stomach. She had grown close with Aidou when he had become her tutor. She hoped nothing was deftly wrong with the noble.

Zero scoffed and turned away to walk towards his favorite viewpoint of the school. "Aidou is tenacious. There is nothing wrong with him Yuuki." He looked over his shoulder, giving her a pointed look.

Yuuki stuck her tongue out at him childishly. Well, Zero was usually right.

* * *

 **~*Hit the road*~**

It had been a few more days since Akatsuki had started to ask around for his cousin. People were noticing the Icy Blond's absence. When it was time for the exchange in the evening, many of Aidou's fangirls noticed their beloved Idol was not there again. This particular night, there was a girl finally bold enough to ask where was Aidou.

"Kuran-san, where is Idol-sempai?" A blond second year asked the prefect.

"Uhh," Yuki thought quickly. "Aidou has been sick! He's recovering from a cold."

"At the end of spring?" Another girl, first year, asked. Whispers furiously followed as no one believed Yuki's reply.

Yuki sweat dropped and nodded furiously. "Correct! It's easy to catch a cold between changing seasons. Don't worry everyone, Aidou will be back before you know it." She gave a placating smile.

"Well how is his condition?" A girl from the back of the crowd asked. "How are we supposed to sit here and wait for Idol-sempai if we don't know that information?"

Kaname and the rest of the Night Class starred on in curiously as they continued their trek to class. Who would of thought that the humans would notice Aidou's absence so much? Many of the vampires were simply uninterested in the noble's disappearance, and Kaname had no dire need of his servant at the moment so he just let Aidou be. But now that a couple of days have past, it was oddly quiet without the blond vampire.

"That's enough!" Zero shouted as the girls had kept throwing questions at Yuki. "Get back to the dorms all of you or else you **all** will have detention for the month!" The crowd of girls disappeared in a blink of the eye.

Yuki sighed in relief. "Thanks, Zero."

Zero just nodded his head and walked off to begin patrols. However, he wondered if Aidou was okay. He dismissed it. The little icicle was fine.

* * *

 **~*Hit the road*~**

He felt guilty leaving without a trace, but he didn't feel like coming back to the real world yet. Aidou was currently lying in a hammock between two oak trees by a small running river. In nothing but a loose white button down and khaki cargo shorts, Aidou was the picture of relaxation; however, relaxed was the last thing he felt.

He was conflicted about leaving Cross Academy. While his loyalty to Kaname would never waver, he wondered if he was doing the pureblood any favors by being at the academy. Lately it seems Aidou causes trouble, after trouble, and can never do right in anybody's eyes. Actually, if he were honest with himself it's always been that way. Most people only really thought Aidou had charm and book smarts, that's it. Except when doing things for Kaname or the blood-pill research, nobody trusted Aidou with important matters. His friends and family thought him too mischievous, and strangers thought him vain and air headed when a situation didn't involve equations.

But, those weren't exactly lies. His constant curiosity and low resistance to succulent blood caused his mischievous nature. And he was vain because of vampire society. If a vampire even dared to look anything less than immaculate in the public eye they become a laughing stock and gossip of the week. It can really hurt someone's self-esteem, and Aidou knows it from experience. Could you really blame him for being…himself?

The blond noble put down his book. He released a sigh. Maybe meditating by the river will help his mind? Oh, and he could also go for a run.

* * *

 **~*Hit the road*~**

Kaname had been in the Moon Dorm's library researching a charm for one of his schemes. He didn't feel like fighting with Zero, knowing the hunter would fight tooth and nail about not giving up his knowledge about hunter charms before Kaname showed his dominance.

"Ah," Kaname said to himself. "Aidou would know." He hadn't seen the blond vampire lately, figuring the noble was still hiding away.

As Kaname walked out the oak doors of the library, he thought, _Surely Aidou would be back by now?_

Takuma, his second in command, was lounging by the fireplace with a mystery novel in his hand. He looked up and greeted the pureblood, "Kaname." Seeing that the two of them were alone for the moment, he went with informal speech.

"Takuma." Kaname greeted back, the same. "Have you seen Aidou?"

The green-eyed vampire shook his head. "Not since almost a week ago."

"Really?" Kaname said surprised. "Has it been that long?"

"What, you really haven't noticed?" Takuma asked. "It's been too quiet without Aidou. He's usually my prank buddy and without him I can't come up with any good ideas." Takuma sighed comically. "I do hope he's alright. I have a bad feeling Kaname."

"What do you mean Takuma?" Kaname sat beside the blond on the couch.

"Well, after the first day Aidou left, I got a shiver down my spine." Takuma explained. "That's typically a bad omen for me. Then after a few more days my stomach dropped while we were in class. I thought it was just bad blood pills but maybe it's Aidou's disappearance. I mean—he's only disappeared for a week at the most, right?"

Takuma wanted confirmation but Kaname couldn't give that to him. He never did pay much attention to the blond's temper tantrums. "Well, I hope your intuition is wrong this time Takuma. But if he doesn't return in the next two days I'll plan something." Takuma nodded his agreement.

* * *

 **~*Hit the road*~**

A week and some days had passed since Aidou's disappearance. Kain had searched all over the nearby woods and even in a few of the outside towns. He had informed his parents, aunt, and uncle. They were also starting to worry about Aidou's disappearance. He assured his relatives that the Council didn't need to get involved and that he would personally search for his cousin.

Akatsuki busted through the Moon Dorm's doors and quickly ran up the grandeur stairs. He then restrained himself, snapping taunt like a spring. He knocked politely on the golden encrusted door. His anxiousness was boiling over.

"Come in." The curt reply came after a minute.

Kain opened the door to Kaname's study. He had received the summons during the class break. "Kaname-sama." Kain bended at the knee to bow.

"Yes, Kain." Kaname nodded his acknowledgement. "Now what can I help you with?"

"Well, Kaname-sama," Kain started. "as you know Aidou has been gone for more than a week. I was wondering if I have permission to go search for him?"

"Ah, yes." Kaname said as he stopped scribbling on his documents. "I was wondering if you were going to ask. You have my permission. In fact, I was going to suggest a search party."

"Thank you, Kaname-sama." Kain bowed his head again.

"Don't worry Kain," Kaname beckoned his servant closer. "we'll find him."

"I hope so." Kain stands and walks closer to the desk. "Yes?" The fiery blond asks.

"Take this to Kiryuu." Kaname hands him an envelope with his royal seal. "See to it that he's on the search party—no matter how much he fights. Believe it or not, he can find Aidou better than any of us can. And, let the Chairman know what is going on. Invite any other vampires you wish to take."

Kain nodded his affirmation. "Anything else Kaname-sama?"

"I know that I am hard on Aidou." Kaname spoke softly. "And as a Pureblood I cannot show much affection in public without it being considered a weakness; however, I do care for Aidou. Find him, please."

Akatsuki's eyes widened. He didn't know how to react. Yes, Kaname showed them affection behind closed doors but never did he directly say he cared for them, especially Aidou. "I…yes, Kaname-sama." Kaname gave a small smile and Kain took that as his dismissal.

* * *

 **~*Hit the road*~**

It was nighttime. Zero had been secretly going insane. He was currently in the fetal position beside Lily in her stall. His vampire instincts were going haywire even more strongly today that he skipped all his classes and prefect duties.

Despite that, Lily was faithfully by his side. Lily gave a soft neigh as she nibbled at Zero's hair, trying to make him feel better. Zero groaned softly, wishing he could pet Lily and not feel like his body was on fire. He knew this day would come. He had slowly felt it creep up on him as days passed.

He was in denial or withdrawal. He wanted blood! Not just anyone's blood but a certain blond vampire's. He couldn't have it though and his vampiric beast was wailing in despair. Zero had never felt so miserable. The pain coursed through him like a slow poison, eating away at his sanity and making his spine shiver despite the heat.

The next night, Zero had somehow managed to curve his vampire beast. He was on prefect duty when Kain had walked up to him and handed him the letter from Kaname. Zero had been pissed, knowing that somehow the Pureblood knew about his problem. His inner beast also whined at him to search for the blond. Oh well, it was inevitable.

* * *

 **~*Hit the road*~**

Aidou wondered how he ended up in these situations. Blood was slowly dripping out his mouth. A huge log was stabbed through his stomach, leaving barely any meat left to his sides. He had decided to take a run after meditating on a rock in the river. It was just supposed to be a simple lap or two around the woods area he was in. He had been running at normal vampire speed (70 mph) on his second lap when he tripped over a particularly thick tree branch and tumbled. He hadn't known there was a hunting trap set up for crying out loud!

The stomach wound kept trying to heal as he was loosing blood constantly. However, the blond genius was cursing the fact that his ability kept trying to heal _around_ the log. He felt the splinters rub into his intestines and his spine was bent at an odd angle. His bleeding had slowed but Aidou didn't think that was necessarily a good thing. He was also stuck to another tree and it was only a matter of time before the hunter, or _hunters,_ whom set the trap will come to check it.

* * *

 **~*Hit the road*~**

Yuuki had a really bad feeling. She had volunteered as soon as Kain told her he was putting together a search party. Plus, it was also her way of keeping an eye on Zero. The silver-haired vampire had avoided anyone yesterday. "I-I think we need to go farther, Kain-sempai." The search party had branched out all the way to their country's borders. They were already thousands of miles away from the school. The sun was coming up quickly.

The fiery blond thought hard about this. When upset, his cousin could be unpredictable. "Maybe he did cross the border." Kain said aloud to himself. They had over twenty vampires with them. There's no way no one would have not sensed the noble vampire. "Aidou's not stupid enough to go too far though. Let's spread out in the next country." Kain told the group.

With various nods from the vampires, they spread out; however, Yuuki, Zero, and Kain decided to be in a group together. Some hours later, as the three vampires covered a broad circular area, Zero caught the scent of blood just fifteen thousand miles away from the border. "Kain, do you smell that?" Zero asked for confirmation.

The vampire noble sniffed the air and growled. "Yes, it's Aidou's."

Zero and Yuuki had to speed after Kain as he zipped through the forest with ease. After a few minutes of running, the trio reached by a cabin. The cabin was small and neat. It was made of cherry wood and had potted plants of different flowers around the windows and door area. There was also a red plaid hammock between two oak trees. A small river also in front, was running towards the South. With the sunlight peeking through the canopy trees, the cabin area was a picture of serenity. Serenity was the exact opposite of what Kain felt. Kain sniffed the air deeply. His cousin's scent was around this cabin.

Zero and Yuuki could also smell Aidou's scent everywhere. Zero, especially smelt a trail coming a few miles left. "Kain, I think he's in this direction." The vampiric beast inside Zero roared with urgency and the hunter barely held the instincts back. Within a second, the hunter vampire speed off with the other two vampires hot on his heels towards Aidou.

* * *

 **~*Hit the road*~**

The blond vampire didn't know how long he's been there. He stopped counting after two days, or maybe that was it? The sun had taken its toll on Aidou's alabaster skin. He felt the sun burn into his body again as the new day's sun was reaching its highest point.

Aidou's body had stopped bleeding but that only led the noble to believe he had ran out of extra blood. The pointed log was still protruding his stomach and he felt as weak as a newborn kitten. Hunters had come by to check their trap. They were regular humans, trying to catch a grizzly bear. They shouted in horror at the sight of Aidou, pale, cold, and unmoving. The amount of blood lost covered and area of three feet, soaking the once green grass red. The hunters quickly left after that. Aidou faintly recalls hearing them yell that they didn't want to go to jail.

Now the noble had regained consciousness at the height of his pain. Was this it? Was he truly going to die the true death? He thought he heard someone call out his name.

"Huh, I guess that's it?" Aidou slowly closed his eyes again, already feeling the darkness take over. What a glorious death to be killed by a tree?

* * *

 **~*Hit the road*~**

" **Aidou!** " Yuuki shouted at the sight of the blond. That shout should alarm some of the nearby vampires as they cannot resist the distress of a pureblood. Her horrified expression put Zero's to shame. Her lips were trembling; eyes were wide, pouring tears down her slightly rosy cheeks.

Time slowed down. Zero was in a state of shock as he took in the-would-be corpse of Aidou. The blond's body had shriveled up some, leaving his cheeks hollow and chest slightly sunk in. The vampire's pale skin was dried and flaking, turning an ashen gray. Zero's heart sank as he thought the worst. The vampire within him wailed again in despair. Was it too late?

Blurring out of sight, Kain reached his cousin first, breaking his own petrified trance. Pulling at the large wooden stake, he threw the log as far away as he could. Catch Aidou before he could slid down the tree, Kain gently brought him to the ground. Kneeling beside his cousin in anguish, Kain called " **Aidou!** _Please, wake up!_ " There was no response. Zero and Yuuki also kneeled looking over the blond's injury. It wasn't healing.

"He needs blood Kain-sempai." Yuuki touched the noble's shoulder with urgency.

Kain quickly gasped, mentally slapping himself as he cut his wrist and opened Aidou's mouth. The trio waited breathless, vaguely aware other vampires from the search party showed up. After the unconscious vampire's mouth was full, Kain shut Aidou's mouth, massaging the throat to make the blond swallow. It was successful after a few attempts. "I need to keep feeding him."

Breaking the stupor surrounding them Zero barked, "One of you, tell Kaname what's happened!" at the stunned vampires around them. Two second year vampires went and sped off.

Everyone watched as Kain kept feeding Aidou slowly. Yuuki bit her lip as she noticed Kain getting weaker. "Maybe I should feed him now. Pureblood has wonderful healing properties, right?"

" _No_." Came the unison reply from Kain and Zero.

"Kaname would kill us." Zero added. "How much blood do you think he will need?" Worry evident in his voice.

Kain groaned, noticing the stomach wound was halfway healed. "He needs a lot more than I can give. He's almost bled me dry."

The silver-haired vampire contemplated what he was about to do. _I just increased my pain ten-fold._ "I'll do it."

" _Really_?" Kain said astonished. He didn't think the hunter turned vampire even cared about Aidou much. _Kaname did say Zero connected to Aidou more than I thought but how?_

"Don't look so surprised." Zero said rolling his sleeve back. Many of the other vampires were surprised as well, used to the hunter vampire still hating their kind quite verbally.

Once Kain pulled back his wrist from Aidou's mouth, the blond unconsciously whined softly. The noise hurt Kain as he knew he could no longer provide noble level blood for his cousin without endangering his own life. Zero slit his wrist with a claw.

Another whine almost escaped the unconscious vampire before Zero's alluring blood passed his lips and he actually bit into the wrist. Zero winced at the sharp fangs, "You better not leave marks, twit."

* * *

 **~*Hit the road*~**

When Aidou awoke, he instantly knew two things were wrong. One, he should not be in Kaname-sama's room nor lying in his bed. Two, he should not have a strong sense of awareness for Akatsuki nor Zero. "Oh my God." The blond vampire whispered. He felt a bond, small but there. Yet, the blond noble didn't want to jump to conclusions. He turned his head from side to side, taking full notice of the darkness surrounding him. The thick rose-colored canopy blocked the view of the splendid room of which he knew Kaname lived in. He could also feel familiar presences not to far away from the bedroom door.

Aidou slowly slid to the edge of the bed, noting he was wearing the Pureblood's black silk pajamas. Blushing, Aidou's hand slipped the canopy curtain back. As he suspected, Aidou was alone in the vast bedroom. The blond vampire stood slowly and walked towards the bedroom door. When the opened the mahogany door to Kaname's study, he was surprised to find the various vampires in Kaname's inner circle scattered and asleep.

"Huh?" Aidou blinked. He did not expect that. Kaname was slumped over his desk, head resting in folded arms, and seated in his leather chair. He face had a tired look. Yuki was covered with a pink blanket and was curled up in the armchair across from Kaname's desk. She also had a worrisome look on her face. Takuma, Shiki, and Rima were asleep on the deep cushioned couch across from the coffee table. Takuma's hand was supporting his head as he leaned on an arm of the couch. Shiki's head was leaning on Takuma's shoulder and Rima's head was on Shiki's lap. All three were sleeping and their face showed furrowed brows. On the divan by the farthest bookshelf lay Akatsuki and Ruka. Akatsuki was spooning Ruka from behind. Both looked uncomfortable though and Aidou noticed his cousin looked paler than usual.

It was then that the blond vampire realized he could still sense Zero but not see him. Aidou crept as quietly as he could so not to disturb the sleeping vampires. Once he checked around the study, making sure the prefect was not hiding in the shadows (Although Seiren was). Aidou went for the only place left, the balcony. Ice blue eyes looked through crystal glass. Obscuring his vision a bit, Aidou could see through the engraved roses that Zero's prone form was leaning against the terrace. Not bothering to be subtle, the blond vampire opened the door and closed it, leaving just him and Zero.

"Aidou." Zero greeted, though his back stayed turned. Aidou slinked forward silently.

Peering at the vampire from the corner of his eyes, Aidou noticed Zero's haggard appearance and paler skin." What happened to me after I blacked out?" Aidou asked, coming beside Zero to lean against the rail. "You're the only one awake at the moment so…"

The sky was bright. The sun still giving Aidou slight singes, as his strength was not up to par yet to withstand the rays. He also notes below that no students were out and about. The walkways were all clear.

"You almost died." Zero said quietly, continuing to stare straight ahead. "Kain and I had to give you our blood."

"Huh…" Well that explained why Aidou had a halfway bond between the two. "How did you find me?"

Zero turned his head slowly, looking Aidou into his eyes. The usual electric lavender was glazed over with worry and hint of fear. "I—I caught your scent better than Kain." Zero looked at the ground. "We were searching for you all over the woods. We kept slowly spreading out until we crossed the border."

The blond's heart hitched in its palpitations. Aidou's eyes widened in bewilderment at the implications from Zero's first sentence. "B-but I thought that our bond was…" And yet that little mental tug from the depths of his mind said _NO_.

Zero swiveled back towards the quiet scenery of Cross Academy. "I know. We promised not to speak a word of it to anyone. But, it's the third time you've taken my blood Aidou. Maybe…maybe it won't just fade away like the other times?" Zero asked, sounding uncharacteristically scared.

Instead of answering directly, Aidou explained his actions. "I—I ran away to fix myself." He blurted out. The blond also decided to stare back out into the wilderness, feeling the sun taxing his powers by the second. "The week—God it was awful. Ruka, Kain, and even Kaname. The altercations kept getting worse one after the other. I just wanted some space. Space I couldn't get here. I thought about permanently leaving Cross Academy. However, I'm never one for running away." The blond sighed. "Maybe that's what we've been doing. Running away."

The blond vampire made the bold move and went to Zero. He wrapped his arms slowly around the prefect's stomach and waist, giving the silver-haired vampire a chance to push away. The prefect didn't. Zero tensed, hands tightening on the terrace's rail with a white-knuckled grip. Aidou placed his head in the crook of Zero's neck and breathed in his ear. "Is that why you've been so grumpy? We've been a part and the bond hasn't gone away."

Zero released a bone-weary sigh, melting some tension out his body. "Aidou—I can't. I just can't with this. It's—"

"Too much." Aidou finished for him. Who would of thought a simple prank, that at the Hunter Association, and getting lost in the woods would end up doing this to the pair. "We'll handle this properly. We'll tell everyone." Aidou gave Zero a straightforward answer this time.

The prefect turned his head,"No—Ngh!" Zero started but was stopped by a pair of pale lips. The hunter vampire protested weakly with a small whine. Zero's body fought between tensing and relaxing. Vampire instinct won and Zero brought his arm to cover Aidou's around his waist. His vampire beast was actually being calmed a bit, so he continued to kiss.

Aidou had slipped his tongue in once Zero had quieted. They battled for dominance for a while. Coming to a draw, Aidou pulled back and spoke with a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry. You must have been scared to insanity, seeing your mate's body close to being a corpse."

Glaring, Zero whispered against his lips. "Take responsibility, you idiot." Aidou grinned toothily.

And with that Aidou soon found himself through multiple interrogations from vampires and hunters alike. Zero's laughter at Aidou's predicament was enough for the blond vampire to put up with it all.


End file.
